Editing Kino no Tabi:Volume13 Special (section)

===“A Country with Close Ties” —Born to be a Dictator—===
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The motorrad and Master’s yellow car (rest omitted) were running along a path in the meadows. It was a nice road, uncluttered with trash, and lined with a few signs along it.

The sun and the white, scattered clouds could be seen amidst the clear sky. Nimya’s plane as well as a tank was flying in it.

“I was right!” Nimya shouted in mid-air. Meanwhile,

“Where? Where are you?” The tank called out.

In the meantime, Kino and Shishou exchanged words as they rode side by side.
       
“‘Master’ has an interesting ring to it. What does it mean?”

“That’s a fine persuader (Note: A gun) you have there.”

“Yes. ''I'' am Kino.”<ref>I think this is when Kino was choosing between the pronouns ‘boku’ and ‘watashi’ to refer to herself.</ref>

“You should limit yourself to large-caliber type persuaders, after all. Peashooters won’t do anything for you.”

“Because I’m only human.”

“Mine looks exactly like the one you have. Where did you get it?”

“I am having trouble every single morning because Hermes won’t wake up on time.”

Eventually, a country came into view. As they were travelers, they entered it.

“Welcome travelers.”

Upon entry, the country’s citizens welcomed them with smiles.

It was a small country. The country appeared to be very calm and peaceful. No matter where they went, the people were relaxed and welcomed them with a smile.

“Quite a great place. This country,” luggage-carrier remarked.

Soon, Kino, Master, Hermes, and luggage-carrier were invited to dinner by the country’s chief. As it was a magnificent meal for free, they had no reason to refuse it.

They were led to a spacious banquet hall, and found the chief—a frail old man around ninety years of age—seated at the head of the table. Lined up on the seats next to him were people of roughly the same age. They appeared to be people who held important positions in the country.

And thus a lively banquet proceeded among these people.

“The people in this country have close ties, don’t they?” luggage-carrier said.

The chief smiled, “That is our country’s pride. What reason do people of the same country have to fight with each other? Getting along with each other is a wonderful thing! —Say, don’t you want to live in such a wonderful place?” and invited the travelers. As Master, Kino, and luggage-carrier would cease to be travelers if they stayed, all of them refused.

“A peaceful country, with its people having close ties, is a good thing. It eases the rough mood we encounter during our travels.” Master did not forget to pay some lip service.
          
At that moment, a middle-aged man seated beside luggage-carrier saw the served dish (pan-baked chicken), “It’s a bit burnt, can you change mine?” and made this request to the server.

The chief stood up straight. “That well-cooked kind is delicious,” he objected, and continued, “You have disturbed the peace. Your punishment will be death penalty.”

The man became pale and desperately apologized, but the chief did not lend him an ear. The rest only gave him cold stares, and in front of the travelers who stared on in wonderment, the man was taken away by people who seemed to be policemen.

“No! Anything but the death penalty, ple—”

He vanished to the outside of the room, and after about thirty seconds,

''Bang.''

A single shot was heard.

The policemen returned and reported that the execution was carried out without a hitch.

“I’m sorry travelers, that was unsightly,” the chief apologized. Kino, Master, luggage-carrier, and Hermes remained in their places and did not show any particular reaction. The chief then explained,

“To maintain the peace among the people in this country, the chief’s orders are made absolute. A chief should always have a discerning eye for matters that can cause spats and conflicts. It is not allowed to have differences in opinion.”

Master only gave a safe “I see” reply.

“Well, let’s forget about that fool and enjoy our meal.”

And so the chief brought a big slice of chicken to his mouth. He chewed it scrumptiously, and the moment he gulped it down,

“Ugh!”

The chief’s face changed color. It became a vivid blue and looked as if he was in a great deal of pain. Looking like that, he fell backwards. The attention of the people around him being in vain,

“He’s dead… He died of suffocation…” The sudden death of the chief was announced. His corpse was carried on a stretcher and brought outside the room.

“Now then, this country’s next chief shall be me—” A man, about the same age as the chief stood up from one side and declared. There was not a single objection from anyone.

“Travelers, I welcome you as this country’s new chief.”

“I can see that. —By the way, what are your criteria for choosing the next leader?” Kino asked.

“By age. In this country, the oldest person becomes chief. And the chief’s orders are absolute. Even if a person is older by a mere tenth of a second, he will be the absolute ruler of the country. The young should obey the orders of those who are older. That’s nature’s law. —How about it? Don’t you want to become citizens of this wonderful country now?”

After they finished eating, Kino, Master, Hermes, and luggage-carrier left the country.

And only left the words, ‘Thank you for the wonderful meal.’


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